It’s all change at the top of the Elite League.
With the Cardiff Devils defeating the Manchester Storm, Danny Stewart’s Nottingham Panthers claimed pole position with an emphatic 5-2 win over the Coventry Blaze.
Elsewhere, a short-benched Belfast Giants squad came unstuck in the second period against the Sheffield Steelers, while the Glasgow Clan kept their Challenge Cup playoff hopes alive with a 5-0 win over the Fife Flyers.
Welcome to Around the Rinks: our daily summary of every team’s post-game media remarks.
Around the Rinks: Saturday, 1 November 2025
Cardiff Devils 3-2 Manchester Storm
Bayley Harewood, Cardiff Devils (Image: James Assidner)
Paul Thompson, Cardiff Devils
I thought the ice was tilted one way in the second period: we came from a goal down, but I thought, with the quality of chances we were creating, it was only going to be a matter of time before we put the puck in the net.
When you’re only holding onto a one-goal lead for a period of time, it can get a bit frantic, but [Kohen] Olischefski scored a big goal by taking the puck to the net.
It was a really pleasing two points tonight.
Cam Critchlow, Manchester Storm
I thought our first period was alright, it wasn’t bad for being on the road. Gary [Haden] scored a good, opportunistic goal, but Cardiff pushed in the second and we were really flat.
They were making us work and being in the defensive zone for most of the period really wore us down. I thought we looked tired: our compete wasn’t there and our physicality was non-existent tonight.
It’s disappointing, but we pushed back hard in the third period and had lots of chances to make that game level. By the time we made it 3-2 in the third period, it was just a little too late.
Fife Flyers 0-5 Glasgow Clan (Challenge Cup)
Joseph Hazeldine, Glasgow Clan (Image: Fife Flyers)
Jamie Russell, Fife Flyers
Christian [Purboo] didn’t have his best night: five goals on 22 shots [and] he was fighting it. There were definitely some that he would’ve liked to have back, but we have to be better in front of him.
We had a great breakaway chance that we weren’t able to finish… this game meant a lot to them and they came out and played very well.
Mike Sirant, Glasgow Clan
It’s always a tough place to play, so we were very pleased to come out with the points tonight. It also keeps us in the hunt for a Challenge Cup playoff spot.
We’re very pleased with our performance today, it was good to see different players get on the scoresheet — that should help our confidence.
Fife is always a tough rink to play in, so we’re happy to get the points.
Nottingham Panthers 5-2 Coventry Blaze
Mitchell Fossier, Nottingham Panthers (Image: Panthers Images)
Danny Stewart, Nottingham Panthers
I’m happy overall: we had a heavy game last night and I thought we came out a little slow today.
As the game went on, I thought we were really good and the penalty kill did a fantastic job in the second period. We fought our way through the second period, found a way to go into the break with a lead, and I loved our third. We played in the offensive zone, got pucks behind them, and guys were rewarded.
It’s a tough weekend at home with Belfast and Coventry and we’ve taken three out of four points. Obviously, you strive for all four, but we’ll take three and it’s a job well done.
Kevin Moore, Coventry Blaze
It was a tough one. I thought we took a step in the direction we were working on in practice in terms of being harder around the net-front at both ends of the ice in the first two periods and we created a little bit more. But, in the third, an unforced error made it a two-goal lead and we deflated from there.
We couldn’t get our mojo back from the first two periods, when it felt like we could claw our way back into the game. It was a tough one, with a lot of good individual efforts, but we certainly need more consistency.
Sheffield Steelers 4-1 Belfast Giants
Kevin Tansey, Sheffield Steelers (Image: Dean Woolley)
Aaron Fox, Sheffield Steelers
We know that they are going to be one of our main rivals this year and I thought we played well tonight. I liked our start: the first five minutes were strong, but they took over for the rest of the period.
We had a lot of offensive zone time, but a lot of it was on the perimeter. In the second period, we slanted the ice the other way: they’re short on the backend and we wore that group down.
For the most part, we were good in the neutral zone, made them come through five skaters, and were businesslike. Now, we’ve got to make sure that we’re ready for tomorrow.
Adam Keefe, Belfast Giants
If we’d taken some of our chances, it wouldn’t have been a 4-1 game. We were probably unlucky to come out of the first period tied, I thought we’d done enough to enter the break ahead.
Sheffield were just better than us in the second. They competed a little bit harder and built a lead. We came out harder in the third period, but our execution was very poor.
The guys are trying and we created looks, but the puck just isn’t going in the net right now. It’s a long week of practice to get ready for another big weekend of hockey, but I’m proud of the guys for the effort they put in short-benched.
Ben Lake went back on the blueline, he’s never done that in his entire life, but he was pretty good. We had guys fighting through and to come out of this week with four points against three of the toughest teams in the league is pretty good.
That doesn’t make today any better: we felt like we would’ve been in this hockey game if we’d executed a bit better.
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